Alexander Gerst

ISS Expedition 41 Patch.svg
The Expedition 41 crew members have released their patch and have written some text to go along with it:

• "Portraying the road of human exploration into our vastly unknown universe, all elements of the Expedition 41 patch build from the foundation, our Earth, to the stars beyond our solar system. The focus of our six-month expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) is Earth and its inhabitants as well as a scientific look out into our universe. The distinguishing ISS solar arrays reach onward and serve as the central element, with the icon of an atom underneath representing the multitude of research onboard that will bring new discoveries for the benefit of humanity. The sun is rising over Earth's horizon, spreading its light along the road of human exploration. Equipped with the knowledge and inspiration gained from ISS, our successful multinational cooperation will lead human space exploration to the moon, Mars, and ultimately, the stars. We are Expedition 41. Join us for the adventure."

Alexander Gerst - Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory 1.jpg
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, Expedition 40/41 flight engineer, attired in a training version of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit, awaits the start of a spacewalk training session in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near NASA's Johnson Space Center.

ISS Expedition 40 Patch.png
The Expedition 40 patch depicts the past, present, and future of human space exploration. The crew wrote the description that follows: The reliable and proven Soyuz, our ride to the International Space Station (ISS), is a part of the past, present, and future. The ISS is the culmination of an enormous effort by many countries partnering to produce a first-class orbiting laboratory, and its image represents the current state of space exploration. The ISS is immensely significant to us as our home away from home and our oasis in the sky. The commercial cargo vehicle is also part of the current human space exploration and is a link to the future. A blend of legacy and future technologies is being used to create the next spacecrafts which will carry humans from our planet to destinations beyond. The sun on Earth's horizon represents the new achievements and technologies that will come about due to our continued effort in space exploration.

ISS Expedition 56 Patch.svg
The Expedition 56 crew insignia

• The Expedition 56 astronaut crew will continue the international collaborative work that has been evolving on the International Space Station during the past 17 years. The expedition comes at a time when private corporations and the governments around the world are rapidly developing crew capabilities for human space exploration. Together, with the experience and continued research on the orbiting laboratory, humans will soon establish a new presence in space beyond low-Earth orbit that will enable us to travel farther into space than ever before.
• The Expedition 56 patch portrays a dove carrying an olive branch on its beak. The patch includes images of the Soyuz launch vehicle for the crew and the space station. The Expedition 56 astronauts’ names are displayed on the dove’s wings and along the limb of Earth at the base of the patch.
• The dove's tail is firmly planted on Earth to represent the strong link between our home planet and the humans who are sent into the cosmos. The patch illustrates our hope for peace and love in the world, and the innate human desire to spread our wings and explore into the future, building on the wisdom of the past, for the betterment of humanity. The patch was designed by astronaut Drew Feustel's son.

ISS Expedition 57 Patch.svg
The official insignia of the three-member Expedition 57 crew

• Humans are explorers. We live on a cosmic island. Setting sails towards new worlds has always been our nature, and it is key to our survival. As soon as our ancestors learned how to build ships, they not only used them to sail up and down the coasts, but ultimately they set out to travel beyond the horizon, to discover new continents. The time of space exploration has just begun, a mere blink of an eye in the eon-long history of human exploration. And yet we already have successfully built great ships to sail the black heavenly seas, and we have dared adventurous journeys into the unknown.
• The Expedition 57 patch is a tribute to human exploration. It depicts an explorer's ship leaving for the unknown as our early ancestors did, and is shaped like an arrow, heading out to new cosmic horizons. It highlights the purpose of the International Space Station as a world class science laboratory for the benefit of mankind and international cooperation, as well as humanity's flagship in space, preparing us for the amazing voyages ahead.
• The Expedition 57 patch is dedicated to all those thousands of humans who make this journey possible through the contribution of their passion, hard work, and courage to one of the most fascinating projects in human history.